December 31 morning

Randy said last night that he planned to groom early this morning. I haven’t heard a report yet this morning, but I bet by late morning the tracks will be all set and ready for a lovely ski. Happy New Year’s Eve day!

December 28 morning

 Doug pulled off a miracle! After yesterday’s rain, I wasn’t sure the track would be salvageable. But Doug fixed it up. Here’s his report:

I attempted to make the track ski worthy again and it is mostly quite good for what it went through yesterday.  The skate track is good except for a few puddles and some bare hill tops, just be aware and ready to ski around the obstacles.  

The conventional/classic track is also good for what it went through.  The track was reset on an old track placed a snow storm or earlier, so it is mostly covered with

We have 5-10% exposed grass.  One of the track setters came off with about 1/3 of course yet to set . So 1/3 of course has only 1 classic track. James will get our machine fixed today. Have a great day skiing and be safe.

December 23 Night

Jeff just finished grooming late tonight (Friday). Thank you, Jeff! Here’s his report:

We got some great snow today. I was able to reset the classic tracks and lay down a nice, smooth, skate deck. It'll be soft for a bit, but should set up nicely overnight and be good for Saturday. 

Merry Christmas Eve!

December 23 morning

Doug sent this update this morning:

I spent a few hour last night resetting and I think it will ski well. The snow was hard, but it seemed to break up as it went through the groomer. Skating will be good and the track is leveled out. Later tonight (or after the snow) it will need some touching up. The classic track worked up nicely by breaking it up and then going back a second time to set the track. A little grass showed up over the tops of the hills (less than 5% of the whole track) where the wind had thinned the snow.

December 22 Night

Doug is out grooming (and it’s -10F with a -22F windchill!). Yesterday’s wind blew snow all over the track. Although the extreme cold today may make the snow hard to work with, grooming will certainly help clean up the track. Many thanks, Doug!

December 20 Temple Track

Great news! Scott H. just let me know that Grooming by the Rexburg Temple started today. It’s awesome to have a track right in town. It is groomed for both classic and skate. Because it is on a hillside, plan to spend about half of it going up and half going down. :) There are some flat areas, too. 

Park in the 4-plex of 7th South. The trail will start on the east side of the parking lot. The best access will be from the south end.

December 19 morning

Doug just sent this report: (Thank you, Doug!)

Just finished tuning up the skate track and put in a new conventional/classic track which may be too soft to hold up. Most of the old track is still in place, so overall the tracks are in great shape. If it warms up a bit, it should be a good day of skiing. Have fun!

December 16 morning

Randy made two passes with the groomer last night, so we have fresh corduroy on the skate track. I assume the classic tracks are holding up nicely.

December 15 Evening

 Rumor has it that Randy is out doing the grooming right now. Randy and his wife have been in the Philippines the last two winters, so we’re very happy to have them home.

December 13 morning

 Here’s a report from Doug:

What a difference a snow storm makes! All is groomed both skate and classic. I did not see any bare spots - I am sure there are some, but didn’t see any. The base is soft, being new and un-skied.  Get out and enjoy. With your skiing, we will get the track perfected.  Happy skiing!

December 12 Afternoon

Doug is planning to work on the track later this afternoon/evening. With all the new snow still falling, it makes sense to wait (plus he’s been busy all day in meetings). It should be pretty good skiing tomorrow. 

December 9 late evening

Doug spent hours working on the course this afternoon. He was able to find enough snow to set a classic track and he rolled for the skate track. Jeff then spent a couple of hours this evening finishing up the skate track. 

Here’s Jeff’s report:

“Doug spent an absolutely tremendous amount of time this afternoon trying to make things work out at the course. He was able to cobble together a pretty good classic track. Given the circumstances, it's actually amazing. The skate track is 95% good but there is 5% where you'll be walking over bare grass, sticks, and at least potentially some gravel. Let the skier beware: definitely rock skis if you have them. Pray for some more snow.”

December 9

 Doug rolled the track this afternoon and Jeff will head out to finish up after dinner this evening. Hopefully it’ll stick and pack down nicely overnight. The wind isn’t helping.

I don’t know if we have enough snow to set classic tracks yet. I’ll post any updates as soon as I know.

December 6 Update

 Doug just sent me this report:

The trail was rolled yesterday and the groomer was used on a one time pass.  It got too late to finish last night.  The track is fair for skating, but there are a few exposed areas - mostly over grass.  There are a few exposed areas over gravel or cart paths that will require caution so you don’t ruin your skis. The snow depth is still inadequate to put in a conventional/classic track.  I will be out as soon as it snows again.  Skiing will help fix the base and the wind is our enemy.

December 2 Again

Sorry to say, but we’re not quite skiable yet. Jeff and Ryan spent lots of time trying to create a skiable track, but there’s just not enough snow. The wind has blown large areas clear. You will likely ruin your skis if you head out right now. We need a few more inches, but we’re close! There’s snow in the forecast, so keep your fingers crossed that we get dumped on (and that the wind doesn’t blow apart the track).

December 2

 Jeff (my husband) just got home and is heading out to roll the track while Doug is out of town. I don’t know if he will set a classic track tonight. Hopefully the base will set up and be ready for real grooming tomorrow. I’ll post any updates I hear.

November 30 Preview

 Just checked the course. Looks like we’ve started trying to set a track, but it's much too thin still to ski on. We expect more snow in the next day or two, so hopefully we will get enough for a track soon. 🤞🏻

The City is busy setting up the ice skating rink. There have been some good improvements for accessing the rink. Should be a fun winter!

March 12 Report

Many thanks to Doug for this final report and all his amazing work. Thanks also to Jeff for his excellent  help throughout the season. Unless we get a good snowfall, there won’t be any more grooming. You’ll probably still be able to ski throughout the next week, but likely on thin snow mixed with patches of bare grass.

Here’s Doug’s report this morning:

It is the end!

Thursday evening I spent some time trying to make a usable track for Saturday's last hurrah.  The classic track was reset. The tracks were moved to new snow wherever possible and they are about 90 % covered with snow on the bottom of the tracks.  Beware of hills on southern facing slopes; the sun has done its duty.     

The skate track is better and has been moved in only a couple of places. The hills are a problem and may take a few feet of grass skiing. The bridge across the river has about 10 ft of bare concrete and the far end of the Cow Pasture by the freeway is also bare. I would give up on the Cow Pasture.Lastly, I would get out early before the snow turns to slush. We have had a great season of skiing; considering the low amount snow we have received, it was almost a miracle.  Enjoy today!

March 5 report

 Sorry I didn’t get this posted sooner. Doug sent this text two hours ago, but Jeff and I were at a race and just saw this. Thanks, Doug! Here’s his report: 

I tuned up the skate track as best I could.  It is not good,  We are at the end unless we get snow. What we have is very thin and therefore I was not able to smooth it with the tines. People were skiing before I finished so it is better than the alternative.  Have a great day.

February Weather Report

Lee Warnick sends out a monthly report on Rexburg weather, under a Google Groups "Rexburg Weather Group". I thought this was interesting; he gave me permission to share it here.

Temperature

High temperatures: 26.7 / 6.3 degrees below normal

Low temperatures: 8.6 / 5.8 degrees below normal

Zero or below days: 7   Normal: 4.3

Highest wind gust: 35 mph on the 20th

Number of windy days: 1    Normal: 4.1

Highest temperature: 41 on the 20th

Lowest temperature: -6 on the 27th

Lowest wind chill: -21 on the 23rd and 27th

Daily records set: High  0     Low  3

   • 4th lowest February high temps in 51 years and coldest since 1989 (that 1988-89 winter still sends chills down my spine); 7th coldest February low temps in 51 years.

   • Visualize the high pressure system dominating our weather for almost the past two months as a giant dome that blocks or diffuses incoming storm systems or steers them elsewhere. Most of the meager snow we've received has been generated inside that dome. High pressure can bring above-normal or even record-breaking high temperatures if it's headquartered in just the right place. This one has been of the more common winter-time variety for us that leads to entrenched cold temps trapped under an inversion, especially if we have snow cover. 

   On a typical day our high temps average about 5 degrees cooler than Salt Lake City's; these past few months it's not been unusual to see 20- to 25-degree differences because of our inversion and all of its attendant blessings (i.e. fog/low clouds). High pressure comes and goes -- after a day, three days, maybe even a week or 10 days for an especially dominant system. But to have our surface maps look just about the same for almost two months, with just a brief respite or two? 

   • Witness: A "neutral" barometric pressure reading is 29.92 inches of mercury. In the 54 days since January 9, we've been below this level at my 7 a.m. observation time only 6 times. Our current streak is 7 days straight above 29.92. 

Precipitation

Precipitation: 0.10 / 13 percent of average

Snowfall: 2.0 / 22 percent of normal

2021-22 water year precipitation (5 of 12 months): 3.90 / 79 percent of average

2021-22 season snowfall: 35.6 / 73 percent of average

Daily records set: Precip  0  Snow  0

Drought status: D1 (Moderate)

   • Tied for 2nd driest February in 51 years, next only to the 0.07 received in 2018. Also tied for 2nd least amount of snow in 51 years, next only to 1.0 inch in 1977 and 2002.

   • These dry extremes have occurred in a La Niña year, which certainly runs against the grain of a usual La Niña winter. The persistent blocking high pressure over the Intermountain West is the giant culprit. We still seem to have so much snow cover because of the unseasonably cold temps we've had along with the extended drier-than-normal spell.

   • The mid- and long-range forecasts still seem to think we'll likely have more La Niña-typical wet weather ahead of us over the rest of winter and into early spring. The first test will be a predicted system coming in this weekend. But what at first looked like a promising storm has been gradually dialed back the past few days to where probs of precip are no higher than 50 percent, and we're not likely to see much more than an inch or so of snow. After that? Back to colder-than-usual weather.

March 1 morning news

 Doug said the Maverick is now repaired and he will head out to soften up the skate track this morning. It was pretty hard-packed and a little rutted yesterday so this is great news.

We still have a 99% skiable track, so come have fun while it lasts!

Thursday February 24 Evening Grooming Report

After Doug and I finished repairing one of the track setters on the Ginzu groomer, I made two passes on the skate track and reset the classic track.  It snowed all through the evening while I was out, but the snowfall was getting lighter by the time I finished up, and there was minimal wind, so hopefully the track will be in good shape for tomorrow (Friday).  

Grooming Report Wednesday evening

Just heard from Doug. (Thank you for your work!)

I tuned up the skate track last night and started the conventional track. About a quarter mile from my house I lost one of the track setters and today has not been good to me.  So I do not have time to fix it until Thursday evening and then I will get it put together.  Just not enough time...

Monday February 21st Evening

When the snow stopped falling this morning Doug groomed everything including resetting the classic tracks.  After a day of heavy traffic, including some unwelcome boot and snowshoe tracks on the skate lanes, I made two more passes this evening with the Ginzu blades to try and refresh the corduroy and let it setup overnight.  

If you see folks out in the skate lanes on classic skis, AT skis, snowshoes etc., please kindly remind them that they'll be better off in the classic tracks or just on the edge of the classic groom... 

February 19, Saturday morning

 Doug finished grooming around 1am last night. Thank you!

Here’s his report:

The track has been tuned up as best I could.  I stepped aside and put in a new classic track, about 80% new.  Just softened the middle of the skate track, just got too late to do more.

Wednesday Feb 16th

Just finished two passes with the Ginzu groomer on the skate track.  With the little skiff of snow today and the blades down, hopefully the track will stay in good condition for a bit.  Beware of the bare spots on the south facing hills on the east side of the perimeter loop.  

The classic tracks are a bit thin, but without more snow we'll probably wait on trying to reset them.  Beware several spots of thinning snow and bare patches there as well...

February 15

 I haven’t heard any grooming updates, but the track is holding up nicely. There are a couple of bare patches you can easily ski around. Yesterday, the skate track was icy hard. Hopefully, the skiff we got overnight will give you a little more purchase on both the skate and classic tracks.

We have lots more skiable days, but we know winter (unfortunately!) won’t last. Enjoy it while you can!

Monday Feb 7th Evening

Made two passes with the Ginzu blades down to freshen up the skate track. The classic tracks are still in great shape. 

February 5 Morning Report

 Thanks again to Doug for taking care of the course late last night! Here’s his report just now (Saturday 8:30am).

Just an update on the trail. I tuned up both the skate and classic tracks last night so they should ski very well to day.  The base is very good and firm. Ruffed up the skate track so it is smooth and firm but not icy. 

For the classic track, I stepped over and made a new track, leaving the old one in place, so you have a choice. The new track should be well set up, but I do not know about its durability, 

Feb 1st Evening

Made two passes with the ginzu blades down all the way on the skate path.  With the cold weather it'll probably stay soft.  Classic tracks are still in great shape.

January 25, Tuesday Evening

Doug and his little grandson finished a trail tune-up this afternoon by making the skate track as nice as it has been all year. It should be great skiing in the morning.

The conventional/classic track looked perfect still.  Must have set up well because there was fairly heavy traffic today.  Things are looking up. Doug said his grandson slept through the entire time out, about 2 hrs.

Thanks to both Doug and his sleepy, but good-helper, grandson! :)

January 25 morning

 Doug has been hard at work again; thank you, Doug! He sent along this report just now:

The groomer lost a track setter Saturday evening, slowing things down.  James put us back together yesterday and checked under for any problems.  We are back and last night the conventional (classic) track was renewed and most of the skate track was fresh with one pass.  Too late to do more.

January 22

Made 2 passes on the skate deck last night. Still cold and soft. Be aware of the winter festival today at Teton Lakes. Should be lots of folks out on the trails. Please be sure to kindly remind all to “know your groom”. 

January 21, morning

Wow. Doug started grooming last night at 9pm and don’t finish until 2am this morning. He rolled it first and then groomed a nice wide track, and also set the classic tracks. He took extra care to prep things for the Rexburg Winter Fest that will be held tomorrow. Jeff and I skied this morning and it was lovely. The snow is soft and forgiving, glides nicely but not super fast. It’ll set up well over the course of the day. Jeff will tune up the course tonight.

So…we were disheartened to see deep footprints down the middle of the skate track this morning, sort of ruining the fresh corduroy and potentially tripping up skaters. After the long, late hours Doug spends to create a great skate track, it’s sad to see it messed with. Please remind people not to walk or snowshoe on the ski trails, and that there are no dogs allowed. Also, classic skiers should stay in the classic tracks,  and please don’t pull sleds down the center of the skate track. 

I don’t have any information from the County on the Twin Bridges trail, sorry!

January 15 noon

 Doug groomed! Pavel reports that the corduroy (for skate skiing) is back. Excellent! Have a wonderful ski!

January 15 morning

For anyone traveling here from out of town: We still have plenty of snow here in Rexburg. The skate track is hard packed and a little firm, but Doug has done what he could to give it some texture without ripping the whole thing apart. The classic tracks are holding up. We could use some new snow to soften things up, but there’s still plenty out there to ski on. Enjoy!

New Cross Country Ski venu

Madison County is now grooming at the Twin Bridges Park - exciting! 

New cross country trails open to the public in Madison County

January 10 evening

Doug headed out this afternoon to tune up the track. It was icy hard earlier today. Classic skiing looked pretty good, but skating was like, well, like ice skating on dinner plates. Doug said he would run the Ginzu over it to break up the ice. He should be finished soon (6pm). Thank you, Doug!

January 7 mid-day

 Just FYI, the track is holding up nicely. Don’t let the melting snow on the streets deceive you - we have plenty of snow and a great ski base at the Winter Park. I just wish we could turn down the wind a little.

Did you know that Doug is also County Commissioner in addition to a part-time dental practice with his son in West Yellowstone, church duties, and grandpa-hood; good thing he retired so he can stay so busy. He said that the County is now grooming a ski trail at Twin Bridges for both skate and classic. How exciting! That’s all the information I have right now.

January 6, Evening

 Doug and Jeff tag-teamed on the grooming this evening. Thanks to both of them! The day was a little warm, but there’s a layer of icy pebble-like crystals from the freezing rain. So although it’s a little soft right now, the snow is fast and fun. Despite the warmer temperature tonight, the newly groomed tracks should hopefully set up well.

January 5, 10pm

Jeff (my husband) is just finishing up grooming. Thank you, Jeff! Here’s his report:

Made one full pass of all the loops to finish out the work Doug started earlier today on the skate deck. Also did a few passes on the “race track” (the practice loop) and added classic tracks for the Youth Ski Club and classes tomorrow. Think it should set up nicely overnight.

January 5 morning

Doug just sent this update: 

“The trail had a quick tune up, both skate and classic.  Should ski well, but not very durable.”

Jeff might groom again later tonight since Doug has Wednesday evening duties, although it may be snowing and blowing and would be better to wait.

The skiing has been really good. Many thanks to our groomers. Doug has kept very busy with grooming (sometimes twice or more in a single day) and Jeff steps in to help as needed. It takes several hours each time, so it’s no small feat. We appreciate them both for volunteering their time to do this service in addition to their regular professions. 🙏

January 4, afternoon

 Doug has the Maverick back and is hoping to have everything groomed by 4. Thanks, Doug!

January 4 morning

 There’s a fantastic base on the skate and classic tracks. We have new snow on top, though, and the Maverick isn’t available right now. I think the City is using it to groom the fat bike course at the Municipal Golf Course in town Doug is just waiting for it to be returned and then will groom - hopefully this afternoon. You can still ski on top of the new snow, of course. It’s not very deep and you’ll feel the base below.

The Youth Nordic Ski Club starts today. The registration is full, so there will be a bunch of awesome teenagers out skiing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with some amazing coaches. We have a lot of great talent in the area and some excellent grooming. Winter in Rexburg is fantastic!

Happy New Year

Made 3 passes on the skate lanes, and reset the classic track. Should be cold and hopefully everything sets up well for the weekend. Dress warm and have a Happy Nordic Year!